Jamaica's Rose Hall a ghostly experience

Debbie Olsen, For the Calgary Herald09.14.2009

During the slave rebellions of 1831-1838, many of Jamaica’s Great Houses were torched as hated symbols of their owner’s lavish lifestyles and cruelty. Even then, Rose Hall was rumoured to be haunted and thus escaped with less damage than many others.

"You better watch out or Annie's gonna get you," my daughter informed her older brother as he swung from a vine in the yard outside Rose Hall Great House. "I've got nothing to worry about," he calmly replied. "You were the one climbing all over her grave."

Rose Hall is one of the finest examples of colonial great houses on the island of Jamaica, but what truly makes it legendary is the fact that locals believe the house has been haunted for decades by the ghost of Annie Palmer, better known as the White Witch.

Since her death in the early 1830s, the spellbinding legends surrounding Rose Hall have been woven into Caribbean folklore and have been immortalized in at least a dozen Gothic novels including the H. G. De Lisser novel, The White Witch of Rose Hall, published in 1928.

Like most travellers to Jamaica, we had spent the majority of our time relaxing on the white sand beach adjacent to our hotel. We would likely have still been parked in a beach chair sipping cool drinks had it not been for the sudden onset of a Caribbean storm. With blustery conditions making our beach chairs uncomfortable, we decided it was time to take the kids down the road to explore the sites around Montego Bay.

Of all the sites in the area, Rose Hall Great House is one not to be missed -- even if you don't believe in ghosts or duppies as they are called in Jamaica.

A visit to Rose Hall can open your eyes to another era in history when Jamaica was a land of sugar cane plantations, great houses, slavery, and sometimes cruel landowners and overseers.

After paying the required admission, we entered a dark room known as Annie's Pub, located on the ground floor of the 1750 building to await our tour guide. We passed up the chance to sample witch's brew, a pub specialty consisting of white rum and fruit juices and instead sat quietly in the dim light listening to a local man playing a guitar and singing Johnny Cash songs. The late Johnny Cash owned an estate in the area and was good friends with John Rollins, the man who restored Rose Hall.

It didn't take long for our guide Natoya to arrive and we gathered together outside the Great House for our tour. Most of the folklore surrounding Rose Hall relates to its infamous mistress Annie Palmer, an 18-year-old English woman who arrived at the estate in the spring of 1820 after her marriage to John Rose Palmer. After the death of her parents in Haiti, Annie had been raised by a nanny who was an expert in the black art of voodoo and faithfully taught her young charge. When Annie came to the island searching for a husband, she was already quite an expert in the dark art of voodoo and some say she used it to attract her first husband, John Palmer.

Natoya led us through the various rooms in the house, explaining the history of each, how it was used, and the ghost stories and legends associated with it. Although it was never proven, it is widely believed that Annie Palmer murdered three husbands and countless slave lovers in the 10 years she lived on the plantation. Some believe that the lead china she dined on almost daily may have caused lead poisoning that slowly drove her insane.

The macabre tale was not something I would have shared with younger children, but to my older teens and our preteen daughter it was interesting. As we stood outside the house, we heard the story of Annie's death presumably at the hands of her slave lover and the attempt to bury her in a grave protected by voodoo spells to prevent her malevolent sole from rising up and haunting the mansion. Unfortunately, the spells were not performed properly, because countless locals and visitors alike claim to have seen her.

And even though we saw no signs of ghosts during our visit, we all agreed that Rose Hall was not a place where we'd want to spend the night.

Debbie Olsen is an Alberta-based freelance travel writer and mother of four.

- - -

If You Go:

- Rose Hall is located about 20 minutes from Montego Bay across the Highway from Rose Hall Resort and Spa. It's easy to arrange a taxi tour from most resorts in the area and the price will vary depending on the distance. Our teens and preteen enjoyed the visit, but younger children may have difficulty with the scary stories related during the tour.

- It will cost $20 US per adult and $10 US per child aged 12 and under to tour Rose Hall Great House. If you want to sample a witch's brew in Annie's Pub, it will cost $2.50 US.

Almost Done!

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.